Going to try and sell my car for the 1st time

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Im going to sell my cobalt with 157k miles on it. The car is mechanically sound and has all new filters, brakes, and tires. As you can see the paint could use some help, I got a few quotes to get the car repainted and the cheapest was Maaco for $607. Now I'm not really sure if spending the money to get it painted would be a good investment or not. Other cobalts in the area selling for $4000 and up and I'm hopping I can $3000 for it.

Also any other tips for selling a car would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

 
i would not have it painted
make sure car is fully detailed including the motor
i would tell people oil was changed every 3,000 miles whether its true or not
also if you selling to a person be prepared for lowball offers and some people claim they will be back with the cash but never return
 
For a car in that price range Craigslist will be your best bet. I have also seen a few folks sell cars on Facebook lately since people trust a friend of a friend more than a random person.

Craigslist will get you LOTS of inquiries, most of them will be for way under your asking price. The best way to avoid that is to ask a firm price and be very clear that you will not negotiate. List out everything that is new/newer on the car and make sure to emphasize that EVERYTHING works. Take lots of pics and clean the heck out of the interior. Repost or bump on Craigslist every 4 or 5 days.
 
Being in Austin, you should not have a hard time selling it esp as a college kids car. Lots of people just want a car that runs drives good just for work and back and that's it. Make sure to list EVERYTHING good and bad about it then they cant be surprised. Also lots of pictures as stated above.
 
Don't repaint, not worth it on the vintage and it is just a Cobalt. Highlight the fact that it has been well maintained. I personally would NOT lie about 3000 mile oil changes, or any other item that may come up.....bad karma. Sounds like it was well maintained so it will sell quick. In your CR ad, tell callers, NO TEXTS. It weeds out all the idiots that want to spend their lives texting. Price it right and it will be gone in a week. I have sold probably 30 used cars, piece of cake. And BTW, thats the nicest looking $3000 car I have seen in a while.
 
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Just clean it up but don't worry about painting it. I would not "detail" the car-in that price range you'll never get the return on your time or investment. Craigslist may work, and word of mouth will also work well. It make take a couple days or it may take a couple weeks to sell it. When I sold my 2006 Elantra it was on Craigslist for 2 weeks, but sold to a friend of a friend's daughter for her first car.

Originally Posted By: jacky

i would tell people oil was changed every 3,000 miles whether its true or not


Apparently you and I have different personal values. I would be honest about the maintenance.
 
i would also tell them it was only driven by a little old lady to church and to the store
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Yikes, what happened to the paint?


Probably parked under a tree with lots of sap. The Paint on the Cobalts wasn't great either way.
 
Is there any sort of thing you can rub(colored wax) on the paint to make it look better?

$3k seems reasonble for a car in decent shape 10years old/157k miles. People in this price range look for a decent running car not perfection.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Is there any sort of thing you can rub(colored wax) on the paint to make it look better?

$3k seems reasonble for a car in decent shape 10years old/157k miles. People in this price range look for a decent running car not perfection.


lol...yeah colored wax...that's the ticket. The paints gone, gotta own it. No wax will hide that flaw.
 
Originally Posted By: smith627
Your sig shows 20w50 oil for your Cobalt. Just curious why not 5w30 unless it's using or leaking oil ?


I wanted to do a light cleaning and replaced a qt. with MMO and I didn't want to thin out the oil to much.
 
Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Is there any sort of thing you can rub(colored wax) on the paint to make it look better?

$3k seems reasonble for a car in decent shape 10years old/157k miles. People in this price range look for a decent running car not perfection.


lol...yeah colored wax...that's the ticket. The paints gone, gotta own it. No wax will hide that flaw.


I think Megiuars ColorX did the trick on my wife's 96 Civic. It does not hurt except the $8 if it does not change it much. It was not perfect on her car but made it look passable to prospective buyers who never asked about it. Some sections looked like that car although on the roof more so less prominent.
 
if i was selling anything even a old pair of shoes i would clean and polish them to make them look new, i know the paint cant be fully fixed but i would try, also i would make sure the motor is spotless, never leave any old oil or antifreeze bottles in the car that indicates it has a leak, use some air freshener and clean the interior
presentation is 9/10 of the sale
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I would not "detail" the car-in that price range you'll never get the return on your time or investment.


I STRONGLY disagree. You can detail a car in just a few hours and the car will command a premium over a car with seven cheeseburger wrappers all over the floor boards.

I have a very good car wash in my area that will wash the outside, vacuum the interior, and Windex the windows for $25. Then I go home and spend 30 minutes detailing the smaller stuff that the car wash doesn't do, and it will easily add $500 value to the car just by cleaning it. People want gently used CLEAN cars.
 
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